Nice to see everyone again! If we haven’t met, we’re Discord’s La Cafetería Employee Resource Group (ERG for short), an employee-led, company-supported group that serves as a space where we can find community, have fun, and organize to help build a better workplace and better world.
Last year, we shared our thoughts on the term “Latinx.” For 2022, we’d like to talk about the theme of “Mejor unidos,” or “Better Together”. When we collaborate, we’re often greater than the sum of our parts. And if we weren’t truly “Better Together,” we wouldn’t be an Employee Resource *Group*, would we?
We sat down with a few fellow members of La Cafetería to learn about the way that communities can impact and uplift people together. Below is what we had to say:
Talking Togetherness
We started off our conversation with an overarching question: What does the phrase "Mejor unidos / Better Together" mean to you?
- “Better Together represents the perfect mantra for our La Cafetería ERG; this space is dedicated to building community for Hispanic and Latinx folks at Discord, and dedicated to supporting each other in challenging and celebratory times.”
- “...community can't happen with just one person or one mind. Mejor unidos means more beautiful things can happen when we come together to build bridges, make connections, and help one another.
- “We, as Latinx, thrive in our professional and personal relationships if we stick together and support one another.”
- “It means we need to embrace our common history, our creativity, our determination, and our passion so we can keep progressing.”
Communities Create Common Ground
It’s one thing to share your favorite mantra — it’s another entirely to put those words to action.
We also discussed with La Cafetería how “Mejor unidos / Better Together” takes shape in their lives and how their community has shown up and supported them:
- "It's really easy for me to compartmentalize experiences and things that happen in the world. [I] kind of "put it away" because it doesn't affect me directly (very privileged, I know). But, I remember the Latinx ERG came together when certain events earlier this year happened. We all came together to cry, to share our rage and frustration, our sadness.
For the first time, I didn't feel numb. Even though I wasn't affected directly, it was the first time where I felt like it did: it was a personal attack on our community. I will never forget that experience. Now from here on out, I will never compartmentalize.”
- “I'm from a town that is predominately Latinx, and went to a high school that was over 90% Latinx. After graduation, my school employed me for five years to ensure my stability and development. It was such a strong display of community empowerment that I [hold] very near to this day.”
- “A couple of months ago, I moved apartments and was hiring movers. When I told one of my Latino friends, he insisted that he had a truck and he'd helped me move. He spread the word with our other friends and eventually it ended up being like four of my Latino friends that helped me move. I know it's a small thing, but it goes to show how friendly our culture is. My Latino friends are always there for me [for] small and big things.”
Join Us and Make Discord Better, Together
Community can mean many things. As our fellow La Cafetería members explained, community can mean your local or regional communities, specific hobbies, other Discord communities, family, friends, school, work... any kind of group that works better, together.
La Cafetería works hard to bring out the spirit of “Mejor unidos” both within Discord and to the greater community through charitable employee matching and more — if this makes you feel like you could fit in perfectly, please join us! You can find any of our current openings using the button below:
